New Delhi, Mar 20 (IANS): In the run-up to 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) chief Pappu Yadav joined the Congress at its headquarters in the capital on Wednesday.

He was welcomed into the grand old party by party spokesperson Pawan Khera and other senior Congress leaders.

Pappu Yadav, a political heavyweight from Bihar, also merged his party with the Congress.

The fresh political alignment, with Bihar in focus, will add strength to the INDIA bloc, hoping to counter the five-party NDA alliance in the state.

Pappu Yadav, a gangster-turned politician started his political journey in 1990s with Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). He contested on RJD ticket from Madhepura, however got expelled from the party for anti-party activities.

Subsequently, he launched his own political outfit Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) in 2015 after being shown the door from RJD.

Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has earlier served as Member of Parliament. His wife Ranjit Ranjan is a serving Rajya Sabha MP from Congress.

In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar’s strongman had defeated the then JD(U) President Sharad Yadav in Madhepura.

Pappu Yadav merging his party with the Congress comes as a no big surprise for political pundits as the former has been praising Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and backing his candidature for Opposition’s Prime Ministerial face, for quite some time.

His recent meetings with RJD supremo Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, some time ago had set tongues wagging about his likely coalition with RJD in Bihar but Wednesday’s development has put to rest all other speculations.